Cruise ship Adriana evacuates US students from Dominica

Adriana's first trip evacuated 350 students from Dominica to St. Lucia, where flights were arranged to the US(Photos courtesy of Charles Carvalho, Carvalho's Agencies)

Cruise ship Adriana, which sails from Trinidad in the southern Caribbean, is evacuating US medical students from Dominica following its devastation by Hurricane Maria.

The ship made a speedy departure from Port-of-Spain on Friday to commence evacuating several hundred students from Dominica, according to Charles Carvalho, CEO of Carvalho's Agencies, port agent, sales agent and tour provider for Adriana Cruises.

The students and their luggage were taken to the ship via tenders. Humanitarian supplies were also delivered to the island.

On the first trip from Dominica 350 students were transported to St. Lucia, where flights to the US were organized. This first batch of students were repatriated on Sunday.

Carvalho told Seatrade Cruise News Adriana is going to operate several such trips from Dominica to St. Lucia, on charter by ExLog Global, a disaster recovery organization working with the US Department of State on hurricane response missions.

The 308-passenger Adriana sails year-round from Trinidad, offering seven-night cruises to such destinations as Grenada, St. Vincent, Barbados, Bequia and St. Lucia.